England’s prominent wicketkeeper-batter, Jonny Bairstow, recently took to social media to voice his dissatisfaction with the travel arrangements for the upcoming ICC World Cup. The English cricket team, after an arduous journey spanning over 38 hours, finally arrived in Guwahati, where Bairstow expressed his frustration via an Instagram post.
In the post, Bairstow shared a photograph depicting England’s cricket players seated in the economy class of a flight. The image, while capturing the weariness of the long journey, also shed light on the challenges faced by the team. While Bairstow’s post didn’t delve into specific details, it’s evident that the extended travel time and less-than-optimal seating arrangements have taken a toll on the players’ comfort and well-being.
Notably, before the Three Lions begin their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign, they have a couple of warm-up games with the first one against India on September 30 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. They will then lock horns with Bangladesh in their second and final warm-up match at the same venue on October 2. England feature in the tournament opener against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The team has already checked into their team hotel in Guwahati where the Indian team also landed on Thursday (September 28). Ravichandran Ashwin was also spotted with the team which led to speculation over him replacing Axar Patel in the final World Cup squad which was confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) by the evening. Axar had sustained an injury during India’s Super Four Asia Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh which will take him at least three months to recover, ruling him out of the World Cup.
The inclusion of Ashwin in the Indian team adds an off-spinning variety to the squad other than loads of experience. He becomes just the second player who was part of the 2011 World Cup winning Indian team to also be part of the 223 contingent, with the other being Virat Kohli.
